


the smell of burning plastic

by fefedove



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Angst, Dark, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 15:28:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14500014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fefedove/pseuds/fefedove
Summary: Sehun, rich chaebol heir and Yixing, the nation's sweetheart, are forced to participate in the reality TV show Xchange. For 7 days, they live with a landfill worker who goes by the name Kai.The world is much uglier than we'd like to admit.





	the smell of burning plastic

this was the original lineup, then i wanted to write bts, and then changed this to exo again l m a o

this fic is inspired by the documentary PLASTIC CHINA and various chinese reality tv shows

let's just pretend it's okay for a bunch of koreans (+yixing) to be living in a random rural chinese village

maybe i'll add a love line later, but that's not the main focus

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

**Episode 1**

 

Yixing throws the card down after reading just two words. “You want me to go live in a place where birds won’t even go to take a shit?”

“Cut!”

But before PD Song can start huffing, Manager Lee rushes over. “Zhang Yixing!” she cries. “I thought we agreed to this show.”

The boy leans back into the sofa and crosses his arms. “Well, no shit,” he drawls, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Aren’t I here?”

The manager purses her lips. “I’m going to say this for the last time,” she says carefully. “You’re going on this show to salvage your reputation and image. If you don’t act better, your career will be over.”

“If you want me to act, why don’t you put me in a drama or movie?”

“You think any A-lister will want to be your co-star, with your scandal?”

When Yixing doesn’t answer, Manager Lee nods to the PD. “I apologize for his behavior. Can we try again?”

“Scene one, take two!”

**Scene 1, Interior: Yixing’s dorm**

Sunbeams stream in through the curtains fluttering from the warm breeze. A beautiful boy sits on the sofa, reading a book. Basked in the sunshine, his bllack hair glows like a halo around his angelic features. But his oversized tee and the bare toes peeking out from his jeans give off the boy-next-door feel.

An envelope appears before him.

“Oh?” he utters, startled. His wide eyes stare right at the camera and it’s enough to melt the hearts of hundreds. “What is this?”

He takes the envelope and opens it carefully. Taking out a card, he reads out loud in his melodic voice.

_Zhang Yixing, as a singer and songwriter, you are the nation’s boyfriend. But here is a chance to do even more for the country who loves you!_

He pauses to giggle shyly. “I feel so embarrassed reading this,” he mumbles cutely.

_Sadly, there are still many who live below the poverty line. Experience their lives for seven days and help raise awareness for the WeCare Foundation. For every 1000 votes from viewers, Xchange will donate $1. The participant who raises the most in donations will become the Charity Ambassador of the Year._

“Wow.” Yixing puts down the card and gazes thoughtfully at the camera. “It’ll be really hard to live under the poverty line for one week. I’ll probably hate it, but that’s the point! I hope the viewers can learn to not take our lives for granted by watching me experience all this. Let’s do it!”

 

“Cut! Much better” calls PD Song. Yixing falls back onto the sofa, his face falling back into its stony expression. “Your acting is good enough to land a movie role. After your scandal clears, of course.”

Yixing glares. “That doesn’t sound like a compliment.”

 

            **Scene 2, Interior: Oh mansion**

“No! _beep_ way!” The boy with honey locks, a white tee and plain jeans doesn’t look like someone who would be cursing the world away. But vulgar words flow from his mouth endlessly as the woman in front of him watches, unable to do anything.

She waits with a tired expression until he finishes.

“Sehun,” she finally says. “Nothing you do will change anything. You’re going on this show, as per your father’s orders.”

“Well, he can go _beep_ himself!”

Behind the camera, the staff roll their eyes. Everyone knows how chaebol heirs can get. Spoiled, annoying brats. And this Oh boy lives up to _all_ their expectations _._

Catching the PD’s gesture from the corner of her eyes, the woman takes a deep breath and gathers herself. “Oh Sehun, you can either live in poverty for one week or leave this family and live in poverty for your entire life!”

Two seconds of absolute silence pass.

Then the boy picks up the thing closest to him—a crystal paperweight—and hurls it onto the ground. He stalks off amidst the explosion of glass shards.

 

“Cut!” PD Song calls after the VJ pans to the woman’s expression dramatically.

Sehun hadn’t gone far—he stopped after he got out of the camera’s range and sat onto the ground with a huff, taking out of his phone. The woman and the PD both go to him immediately.

“That was great, Sehunnie!”

The boy looks up from his phone and glares. “You’re not my mother and you don’t qualify to tell me my father’s orders,” he spits.

Discomfort, anger, and whatever other negative emotion flashes past the mistress’s face but she quickly smooths it away. Her smile is gentle as she excuses herself, leaving the PD alone with Sehun.

“You did great,” Song praises. He needs to get on this brat’s good side for the funding, despite wanting to slap the kid up and down. “All the viewers will swoon over you. Just watch-”

“Get out of my house.”

 

**Scene 3, Exterior: outside the agency**

It is supposedly early morning (the special effects team will add the time 5 a.m. later) and the streets are deserted (the fans are politely forced away), a rare sight in the bustling city of Beijing. And yet, Yixing comes out of the company building with perfectly tousled hair and flawless skin. He’s dressed in casual airport fashion despite not traveling by plane today.

When he sees his designated VJ, his eyes brighten. Smiling and waving at the camera, he sing-songs, “Hi, everyone! Good morning! We’re finally going to the village today! I came early to the company to take care of some things but now I’m ready to go!”

He pairs his words with half-awake-but-excited gestures and moves for the van.

 

“Cut!”

Before PD Song can say anything else, the light in Yixing’s eyes goes out and the smile disappears behind a black face mask. He looks pointedly at the black van.

“Ah yes,” Song says, following the idol’s gaze. “Let’s get you to the van quickly for your beauty sleep. But have you looked at the script yet?”

“My manager will tell me on the way.”

And with that, Yixing disappears into the van.

Manager Lee follows. Responsible as she is, she sighs and starts reciting, “Introduce yourself to the Oh kid. You’re genuinely-”

Yixing snorts.

“-genuinely interested in him. He’s supposed to give short and rude supplies and you’ll just go along with it. Then they’ll look through your suitcase to take items away. Show a little attitude but not too much so you don’t seem fake.”

Yixing snorts again.

“You’ll be alone with him on the van. You can make small talk and-”

“Got it,” Yixing interrupts. “I’m an angel and I’ll _be_ an angel,” he drawls. “I’m an expert at this.”

It has been his image for the past five years after all—one that he had worked hard on building and maintaining, even after his smoking and playboy scandal (to be honest, it wasn’t that big of a deal but the antis blew everything up.)

He’s good at pretending to be the nation’s son with a spotless background, good upbringing, and sweet personality every minute and every second of the day.

 

            **Scene 4, Interior: Interview room**

"What expectations do you have for this trip?"

Sehun sits in front of a solid blue wall. He takes the bottle of sweet red tea from the table beside him and downs half of it in one breath, making sure the brand is visible to the camera.

Later, the special effects team will put "Drink some Kang Shifu Red Tea to help you calm down!" in cute font.

Slamming the bottle down (label still to the camera), Sehun grumbles, "My dad wants me to become an angel after this trip. I don't want to change. That's beep-ing fake." He crosses his arms with a petulant pout. "And anyway, if there are any problems with me, it's how they raised me."

 

"Cut! That’s enough."

The PD murmurs to himself, "There's room for a lot of improvement. That's great. That's great. Nice and positive."

The staff assigned to be Sehun's manager rushes over with a makeup artist. While the latter attacks Sehun's pimple with a small brush, Yezi asks, "Have you looked at the script yet?"

Sehun spares her a glance. "Does it matter? I'm just a spoiled brat."

Yezi sighs. "They'll look through your bags later. We've added some more things to intensify the effect but then they'll take away your phone. You need to put on a show but don't worry, I'll keep it with me the entire time and you-"

"I don't need it," Sehun interrupts.

"Huh?"

"What would I use my phone for? Updating my father on my improvements?" Sehun snorts. "You can keep it. Or sell it, I don't care."

"Uh...oh, okay."

The makeup artist leaves and Yezi starts ushering Sehun out the building. The rest of the interviews will be filmed together at the end. The script writers needed time to learn their personalities and write lines that felt realistic.

"You'll be meeting Yixing outside. He should be done with his interview already."

 

As Yezi had guessed, the idol is already there. He’s leaning against the black minivan with his eyes closed as some assistant fixes up his hair. He looks dead tired, dark circles showing even under the heavy makeup.

Sehun fights the urge to roll his eyes. After his scandal, apparently all his jobs bailed on him. What could he be so busy and tired about? Then he realizes what an asshole thing it was to think. And he realizes he doesn’t care.

He stands in the middle of the site awkwardly. The staff bustle around him while Yixing doesn’t even crack his eye open. It’s like he’s fallen asleep while standing. Should he go over and make small talk? Despite everything, this guy is the only one who’ll suffer through the next week with him.

But he decides against it. ‘Making friends’ isn’t part of any of his personas. He’s a cold-hearted city guy. So he continues to stand awkwardly in the center of the action.

Then finally, the PD calls the two over to talk about the script.

Sehun steals a glance at Yixing. The man’s skin is honestly horrible but he smells nice like expensive cologne and baby powder.

Yixing doesn’t look at him.

 

**Scene 5, Exterior: parking lot**

Yixing leans against the car casually. The sun shines down on him and he practically glows. He smiles—almost as brightly as the sun—at the camera.

“It’s finally time to meet my _didi,_ ” he says excitedly.

His eyes catch something behind the camera.

“Oh, he’s here!”

Another camera shows the grumpy chaebol heir coming this way. He drags two large suitcases behind him with difficulty, as if he’s not used to having to do it by himself.

Yixing walks over with a smile. “Hi, I’m Yixing and you must be Sehun!” he greets. Without waiting for a reply, he takes one of the suitcases. “Let me help you with that.”

Sehun shrugs.

“Nice to meet you,” Yixing adds.

Sehun shrugs again.

Yixing’s smile falters a little but there’s no time for awkwardness. A disembodied voice suddenly calls out, “Zhang Yixing, Oh Sehun, thank you for taking part in this experience. Welcome.”

Yixing’s smile is back while Sehun rolls his eyes.

“But before we disembark on our journey, the staff needs to check your luggage. We-”

“What?” Sehun exclaims. “You’re not touching my stuff.”

“You must live exactly like the locals,” the staff tries to explain behind the camera. “So-”

“No! My Instagram followers will be worried and I have important _beep_ to do!”

Yixing sighs. “There’s probably no signal or even stable power there,” he says patiently. “There’s no point in bringing any modern luxury things.”

The boy looks like he wants to argue some more, but he just swallows his words and huffs. The audience must be so amazed at how easily Yixing placated him. Is Yixing a god?

With that settled, the staff are able to freely look through Yixing’s duffel bag and Sehun’s suitcases. Through a time lapse, things start piling on the ground.

For Yixing, there are clothes, snacks, books, vitamins, a first aid kit, and a mini music production set. Bling-bling effects are added around the last one but he handed it over to the staff sadly.

For Sehun, there are clothes, various shoes, game consoles,  various electronics, a humidifier, mini water purifier, and a lot more stuff. Ninety-percent of his belongings get thrown into the plastic bin.

“You want me to drink their dirty water and _die_?!” Sehun screeches.

Seeing that Sehun is on the verge of throwing another tantrum, Yixing asks the staff, “Maybe we can bring the water purifier and donate it to the villagers afterward? The humidifier too. I heard it helps the lungs.”

With Yixing’s help, crisis is averted again.

Sehun’s eyes seem to be less spiteful now.

“Okay!” a cheery, disembodied voice exclaims. “Now you’re ready to go! Good luck, boys!”

 

**Scene 6, Interior: minivan**

The two boys are seated next to each other. Yixing rolls down the tinted window on his side and gazes at the passing scenery.

Then he leans back with a sigh. “Hey, we’re in this together,” he says quietly. “Let’s try to make the best out of it.”

Sehun grunts. One of his earbuds has fallen out but he doesn’t bother stuffing it back in. “How do I make the best out of a shit hole?” he mutters.

Yixing’s smile is tired but still bright. “We’ll see. It’ll be hard but that’s the point. And come to think of it, we can leave after one week but the villagers can’t. They’re stuck there.”

After a moment, Sehun rolls his eyes. “This is just the first episode. You’re too fucking deep already.”

“True.” Yixing glances at the camera positioned on the side of the car beside him. His eyes flit over to the cameraman in shotgun. “You can stop filming,” he says to the man. “I’m done talking.”

“But don’t you think-”

“I’m done talking,” Yixing cuts Sehun off. “They’ll make a soundless montage for the rest of the trip so stop bothering me.”

He rolls his window up, puts on his headphones, and wraps the darkness around him. Sehun stares for a bit before swearing inwardly and doing the same.


End file.
